Fecal catheters have occasionally been criticized for the transmission of fecal odor through the tubular walls. A possible cause of the poor odor barrier is the silicone material of which these devices are composed. The odor barrier of silicone is known to be one of the worst among polymer materials. For example, the oxygen transmission rate of silicone has been reported to be 775,000 cc mil/m2/day. Therefore, a 20 mil thick silicone catheter is about 3 orders of magnitude worse than a commonly used ostomy film having a transmission rate of 50 cc/m2/day or less.
Another possible explanation for silicone fecal catheter having poor odor barrier is that the extruded silicone utilized in such devices is relatively rough and as a result could trap fecal components. The contours of the spots trapping the fecal material provide substantial surface area, through which odor is transmitted. The combination of high odor transmission rate and large surface area contributes to the poor odor barrier characteristics of the silicone used in fecal catheters.
It would be desirable to develop a material to be used in a fecal catheter that has the desirable characteristics of silicone while providing an odor barrier substantially better than that of silicone.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an odor barrier polymer having these characteristics.